Twelve Years a Slave is a memoir written by Solomon Northup detailing his accounts of how he was sold into slavery in the South. Northup lives in New York with his family he is an accomplished violinist and works as a carpenter. A son of an emancipated slave, Northup is born a free man. In 1841, unemployed and looking for work, Northup met two men who offered him to play in a circus in New York City. He was conned into meeting the circus in Washington DC, a slave state, and the two men assured his safety, however, he was conned and drugged by these two men. He then woke up in a slave pen of James Burch and even though he explains his freedom, he ended up being tortured and whipped. Along with other kidnapped victims and slaves, Northup was bought and sold in New Orleans, Louisiana. The book is a detailed narrative of the author’s experience as a slave in antebellum South. Northup spoke about detailed and accurate accounts of slave treatment, the abuse and torture, and the author’s hope and thrive for freedom.
The book is a primary source with accounts of the slave life in pre-Civil War antebellum South. During this period, the South is one of the states that uses slaves. Because of high demands of slaves, human trafficking happens. Free black men, women, and children were being forced, tricked, and coerced and being sold in slave states. Northup is one example of human trafficking, because he was sold and was tricked into getting a job. According to the UN Protocol, human trafficking by definition ‘refers to all acts of recruitment, transport, sale, or purchase of individuals through force, fraud, or other coercive means for the purpose of exploitation.’ (UN Protocol on Trafficking, 2000)
Being sold into slavery, Northup have also experienced brutal torture and treatment from slave trader James Burch, carpenter James Tibeats, and ‘ni**er breaker’ Edwin Epps. He detailed ‘Burch commenced beating me. Blow after blow was inflicted on my naked body… My sufferings I can compare to nothing else than the burning agonies of hell!’ (Northup, 44-45) Northup was first sold to William Ford, a devout Christian and owner of a lumber mill, but due to financial crisis, Ford sold Northup to James Tibeats. Tibeats was a cruel master and often threatens to beat up Northup. However, due to his bigger and strong built, Northup turns the table on Tibeats and beats him instead. As a revenge, Tibeats plotted to murder Northup but unsuccessful. He then sells Northup to Edwin Epps. Northup spent ten years under his master, Edwin Epps. Epps was known to be the ‘ni**er breaker’ and is cruel to all his slaves. Northup detailed accounts of humiliation, and abuse under Epps. Northup then met Patsey, a female slave who Epps often rapes and whips. With this detailed fist hand accounts of Northup, there is now a strong evidence of slave treatment during those time. This provided historians and people of today to understand and find out the hardships faced by slaves.
Years passed, almost giving up his hopes of freedom, Northup met a carpenter named Samuel Bass. He told him his story and Bass helped Northup relay his message to his friends in the North. His family learned of his situation and with the help of Henry Northup, a relative of the master that once owned Solomon Northup’s father, he was found and set free. This book also mentions the story of hope and perseverance. That no matter how many hardships Northup faced, he never gave up and eventually found freedom.
This book is a heavy yet informative artifact that people can use to understand the dark side of our history based on a slave’s narrative. It is a refreshing book to read because it is rare to find a history book not written by rich white men based off of their perspective. This book will make you understand and view history from a slave’s point of view. Due to the detailed accounts of the author, the book can be gruesome. I highly recommend this book for avid readers and history learners alike. It made me understand history in a different perspective and I learned a lot from the author’s accounts of his story of defeat, courage, and hope. The book will also allow readers to understand slavery, human traf